New York Playbook Interview with Bo Dietl

Bo Dietl, a retired NYPD detective turned private investigator, is running as an independent mayoral candidate. He also appeared in numerous movies and is a regular presence on cable news and talk radio shows. Playbook New York spoke with Dietl about Eric Garner, Bill de Blasio, Donald Trump and more. The following interview was edited for clarity and space.

Fair warning: This interview includes plenty of explicit language.

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What do you see in the Eric Garner video?

What I see a cop grabbing a guy who is supposed to be getting locked up and getting him into the ground. That’s what I see. Eric Garner had acute heart problems, he had acute asthma and he also had major diabetes. Physically, if the guy did one push up he could have died too. There was no way in the world Pantaleo knew that by grabbing him in a headlock that this man was going to die. It’s a terrible tragedy. You know how many times I’ve done it? Dozens of times because when I worked up in Harlem, and all over Bedford Stuyvesant, East New York, and East Harlem, I used to fight all the time.

In the movie Goodfellas, you’re in the scene where another cop confirms Henry Hills’ kitchen equipment has cocaine all over it, by tasting it. Did cops really do that?

Yeah, yeah. Back then, yeah. You know what cocaine is. You didn’t have the test field. So, you know it’s cocaine, that’s all. You wouldn’t get high from it. It’s not a good idea, because, it could be rat poison. It’s not a smart thing to do. I’ve done it.

Do you think voters will be turned off by the private eye work you did for Roger Ailes?

I was hired 2006 by the general counsel at Fox to investigate a sexual harassment claim. That’s what I did. I have never spied on that guy from New York magazine, Gabriel Sherman. And I said "You cocksucker, you print this and I’m going to sue you." I had a hard time with Fox thinking I did some subversive shit. And I have my little problem with fucking Rupert Murdoch, still has it in his mind that I’m Rogers' fucking henchman. If anything I got pissed off because for years I’ve been asking to get the security with my guys, with the Fox building over there. I mean, I was a Fox contributor for 12 years and I never got no fucking business. All I was was a Fox contributor. And if I was so close to Roger, why wouldn’t Roger give me that fucking security. If anything, I was angry with Roger Ailes.

So, you’re the guy who's going to beat de Blasio?

I just got some information not too long ago that one of his people made contact with us — that de Blasio is not very happy being mayor of New York City. In other words, he says "I hate it, I don’t like it." I got a good idea for him.

What’s your source for that?

I’ll tell you exactly. But if we give up our source, then we’re not going to have our source. We’re going to have spaghetti. Here’s what I got [reading message on his phone]: Inside story from de Blasio. He hates the job. This is your campaign, Bo. He hates his job. This is priceless. You must use this. This comes from someone who deals with him 20 times a day. [To me] So the source is not known yet. But it’s someone obviously very close, and this comes from somebody, a very credible source. So, we’ll dig deeper into that.

De Blasio pummeled his 2013 Republican opponent Joe Lhota by tying him to Rudy Giuliani. You voted for Trump. How do you avoid Lhota’s fate?

The intelligent people will ask me why I voted for Trump. I’ll explain to them I’ve known him for 35 years, I’ve seen him work. Does he tell not-the-truth all the time? Is he a little out there? Yeah. But I wanted some kind of change for America and Washington.

De Blasio sees a political benefit in opposing Trump. You think that’s wrong in New York City?

You got a mayor of New York City who is giving the finger to Donald Trump and saying "We’re not going to do this. We’re not going to do that." How can Trump hurt de Blasio the best? I’ll tell you right now: He’ll stop federal housing subsidies, he’ll stop anti-terrorism money from going to the police. He’ll also stop the infrastructure. He’ll make de Blasio look like a horse’s ass. Where is de Blasio going to come up with the deficit? I’ll tell you where: taxes.

You think voters are going to blame de Blasio for antagonizing a narcissist president, rather than just blame the narcissist president for hurting his own city?

No. But wouldn’t it be better to have a mayor who can go to Washington and say, "Mr. Trump. President Trump. You love this city as much as me. Stop the bullshit. The Brooklyn Bridge is falling. I need infrastructure. Mr. President, please. I need money for our cops. Mr. President, you love this city, I know you do. This is your home."

Polling suggests there’s a frustration with de Blasio among white, outer-brough voters. Do you plan to appeal to those voters?

I’m not making this race black or white. Know who I met with last week? I met with the black leader in New York: Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts. When he wanted to meet with me, I was very, very honored. He says quote unquote, "Bo, I like what your platform is. I really support it. If anyone asks, you met with me and I support your platform. I do not like Mayor de Blasio. He has done nothing for black community," quote unquote.

Would you hire a police commissioner like Ray Kelly?

"I saw him yesterday. Know what I said to him? "You ready to come back?"